The Aftermath
by Sasz
Summary: Plumeria begins to have second thoughts where it comes to her and Team Skull's involvement in the schemes of the Aether Foundation. "Listen, I just wanted to say, no hard feelings, ok? You said you're here to protect those you care about. Well… So am I."
1. Chapter 1

_Plumeria begins to have second thoughts where it comes to her and Team Skull's involvement in the schemes of the Aether Foundation._

 _So I decided, after spending way more time on this than I meant to, it can only be presented as a short story with chapters._

 _It begins at the point where Plumeria's group kidnaps Lillie from the Aether House, and go on through post-game. This is my answer to the many headcanon requests I've gotten on tumblr for how Plumeria and the rest of Team Skull reacted to everything that happened to Guzma, including his decision to disband the team. Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 1.**

As the boat sped towards the artificial island, Plumeria felt a chill run up her spine. The nighttime air seemed colder than usual, but that wasn't the only thing… A peculiar feeling had been nagging her, eating away at the back of her mind ever since they'd set off towards the Aether Paradise. No. On second thought it had been going on much longer than that. She couldn't quite grasp it, but something felt off; a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Maybe she was hungry. Or maybe she was beginning to realize what a mistake this was.

For the fourth time since leaving Ula'ula she glanced back at the girl who sat on the starboard bench, clinging to her bag. Two grunts sat on either side of her, keeping watch just in case she tried to make a break for it. Not that she'd have anywhere to go, short of jumping into sharpedo-infested waters, that is. Although Plumeria supposed she could try taking over the boat. Overpowering those two and the captain would be easy enough, even without pokémon of her own to battle with. Getting past _her_ on the other hand…

No. The Team Skull admin dismissed the idea with a shake of her head. She wouldn't do that. She was a good kid. Not at all the brat Guzma had warned them about. Her decision to come along quietly had been hers, and hers alone… So then why did she feel as though they were kidnapping her?

Plumeria shivered again, briskly rubbing her arms up and down before reaching for a jacket from the storage box. Better make that two, she thought, tossing one over her shoulders as she turned to approach the girl. With a wave of her hand she shooed the grunts away and sat down beside her.

"Here," she said.

At first the young girl looked utterly bewildered by the offer. She hesitated, unconsciously tightening her grip on the strap of her bag before she turned away. "I'm fine, thank you."

Plumeria shrugged and cast the jacket aside. At least no one could say she hadn't offered. "Listen," she began, "I just wanted to say, no hard feelings, ok? You said you're here because you wanted to protect the people you care about? Well…" she drifted off as her attention shifted towards the two grunts, who were now leaning over the opposite side of the boat for a closer look at something that had caught their attention in the water.

Finneon. Hundreds of them, as well as lumineon, were schooling close to the surface, traveling in the same direction as the boat along their natural migration route. Their neon fins and lateral lines glowed in the moonlight, creating the illusion of underwater stars, and while they certainly were beautiful, the two idiots staring at them were sure to go flying overboard the next time the boat hit a wake.

"Yo! I hope you two know this boat's not stopping if either of you falls in!" Plumeria called out.

Both boys shot upright and whirled around to face her with mutual looks of betrayal. "Sis, you wouldn't really leave us behind, would you? W-we're miles away from any islands, y'know? We'd be done for."

"Then I suggest you sit your butts down and stay put." she said, crossing her arms and staring them down with a deadpan expression.

Although the grunts trusted her, they also knew better than to take their chances. It wouldn't be the first time she sat back and allowed them to make a mistake in hopes that they might learn something from it. Without another word they lowered their heads and sunk back on the bench opposite from her and the young girl.

Plumeria sighed and uncrossed her arms, leaning back into the seat with her hands behind her head as she traced back to her previous thought. "Anyway, you're not the only one who's got someone they wanna protect."

Awkward silence stretched on between them for a bit until at last Lillie spoke, though her meek voice was scarcely audible over the sound of wind and the boat crashing through the waves. "If you really want to protect them, why don't you stop this?"

" _Stop this?_ " Plumeria scoffed, though she wasn't really amused so much as taken aback. "Didn't you say you'd come along quietly? I'm pretty sure you said that."

Lillie murmured uncomfortably, and began kneading at the cloth of the bag. Ok, so perhaps she could have worded that better, or built up to it so that it wouldn't have seemed like such a random thing to say.

"I'm not asking you to let me go," she said. "I said I was done running away, and I meant it."

"Ok… So then, care to explain what you meant by _'stop it'_?"

She began to trace the outline of the pokéball pattern on her bag, avoiding eye-contact with the older girl. "I meant you should stop working with my mother. What do you have to gain from it, anyway?"

Plumeria sighed again, and raised a hand to massage the space between her eyes and the bridge of her nose, as though she were nursing the early stages of a headache. "I guess I shouldn't expect a kid to understand," she said. "The money we get from doing business with your mom puts food on the table, and a roof over our heads. Without it we…" she hesitated for a second before she continued. "My point is, we need this."

"No, I understand," Lillie said. "But it sounds like you don't understand what kind of person my mother is."

"That may be true..."

"I'm serious. If you really care about them you should stop this before it's too late."

Plumeria eyed her quizzically. "What, you really think something bad's gonna happen?"

"I don't think. I know," Lillie stated, at last making eye contact with her. "Do you even realize what you're involved in, or are you just following orders without question? Is a paycheck really worth putting them at risk?"

Plumeria narrowed her eyes, pinning her with a serious look. The combination of black eyeliner and gold irises, which caught the moonlight in such a way that they appeared to glow, was unnerving to Lillie, but she tried her best not to show it, even as the older girl rose to her feet and faced her with a threatening stance.

"Ok, first off," she held up one finger, punctuating each statement as she went along, "don't go saying you understand something when you obviously _don't._ Second, you want us to cut ties with Aether? Well, I got news for you, girlie. You're talking to the wrong person. See, I don't make the rules. I just enforce 'em. You want us to change how we operate, then you better have a word with my boss. I'm warning you though—G doesn't take kindly to people telling him what to do. Third! What do you care what happens to us anyway, huh? It's none of your damn business! You worry about yours, and _I'll_ worry about mine."

All eyes were on Plumeria by the time she'd finished her tangent. Even the grunts, including the boat's captain had turned around to stare at her in disbelief. While it was normal for the aforementioned boss to go off on someone and hover over them as he was speaking, such intimidation tactics were rarely—if ever used by the team's 'big sis'.

Between the two of them, Plumeria had always been more docile, rarely raising her voice, or giving in to frustration. Despite owning the term 'resting bitch face' she was anything but, earning her the trust and adoration of her subordinates, which she affectionately referred to as her dumb little brothers and sisters. However, if there was one thing that could get her riled, it was someone threatening her family. Whether the kid had meant to insinuate that she didn't care about her sibs or not, needless to say her poor choice of words had left a bad impression on the Team Skull admin.

Nonetheless, Lillie stared back at her with conviction, even as her lip began to quiver. "What's wrong with caring about other people?" she asked earnestly. "I care because I don't want to see anyone get hurt, whether I consider them my friends or not. You're still people, and you don't deserve this any more than Nebby does."

At first Plumeria could only stare back, mouth partially agape, but after a moment, she straightened up, turning her back to her with a loud huff. " _Stupid girl,"_ she cursed through gritted teeth, though at that point she wasn't sure if she was referring to Lillie, or to herself for denying her own misgivings about the situation.

She looked out at the group of lights which had appeared on the horizon, drawing nearer with each passing second. Soon they would reach their destination. The president would no doubt be waiting to greet them at the docks, and Guzma as well.

Guzma…

He'd told her to find the girl, and get the pokémon, and 'be on your guard 'cause this kid's a tricky one.' Granted while Plumeria had assumed the job would be easier than he'd made it sound, she had _not_ expected the president's daughter—infamous for stealing a rare pokémon from her mother and using its power to escape unscathed, or so the rumors said—would turn out to actually be a sweet child who goes out of her way to worry about complete strangers. Not just strangers, in fact, but criminals who had accosted her and attempted to steal back the pokémon she was hell bent on protecting. If Plumeria had ever felt like a bad person before, this took the cake.

What was she protecting it from, anyways? She knew Lusamine seemed a bit _off,_ but aside from an unhealthy obsession with beauty, and some weird priorities, even by criminal standards, it was hard to imagine she'd allow any real harm come to the pokémon she was so worried about retrieving. Or Team Skull, for that matter.

Then again, she reminded herself, this wasn't the first time she'd had reason to suspect the president was up to something. Even in the early days of their partnership with the Aether Foundation, Plumeria found herself wondering what those high-class prigs wanted with a bunch of misfit good-for-nothings with shoddy educations, and even lower scores as pokémon trainers. Sure, Guzma was strong. He was easily the strongest trainer Plumeria had ever met, short of the island kahunas, and while that was probably what had drawn Lusamine to him in the first place, but as for the rest of them…? Well, perhaps it wasn't their strength she was interested in after all.

What _were_ they doing? She thought back to when she'd asked Guzma that very same question one Sunday morning, not long they'd initially partnered up with the Aether Foundation. It was an article in the Alolan Star that had caught her eye, and she'd wasted no time in bringing it to Guzma's attention, slapping the newspaper down in front of him and narrowly missing the edge of his plate as she pointed to the headline on the lower corner of the page.

"Don't tell me you don't know anything about this," she'd said.

"Aether Foundation to open facility for pokémon hurt by Team Skull…" Guzma read aloud in a disinterested tone. After a brief pause he shrugged and resumed loading large bits of pancake onto his fork before shoveling it into his mouth. "Yeah? So what?"

" _So what?_ Is that not the same eevee we handed over to them last week?" She gestured to the black and white photograph of Lusamine holding an eevee with a gimpy ear; a distinguishable feature which Plumeria had recognized instantly. The twisted cartilage was likely the result of a birth defect rather than an injury, but it looked gruesome enough to grab attention and tug the heartstrings of anyone glancing over the paper as they sipped their morning coffee.

"What's your deal?"

"My 'deal' is that girlfriend of yours is up to something," she said, staring him down from across the table.

Guzma snorted. "Ya know she's like 40-somethin' right?"

"I don't—wait… Seriously?"

He nodded, taking another large bite and then proceeding to talk with his mouth full. "Got two kids, too. I mean, I know some guys're into milf-types, but—"

"Quit trying to change the subject. All I wanna know is what's going on. Why is she having us steal pokémon, and then opening up a sanctuary for the ones we give her? Does that make any sense to you? 'Cause I'm lost."

"Don't know. Don't care," Guzma said flatly. "Why's it even matter? She's payin' us, in't she? Don't ask dumb questions."

Though grudgingly, Plumeria had decided to drop it before the conversation turned into a full-on argument. Regardless of whether she liked what was going on or not, she couldn't deny the money they got from the supposed 'pokémon conservationists' in exchange for the pokémon they stole was useful, if not necessary for keeping the team alive, and it wasn't like they were at risk for anything more than having their name repeatedly dragged through the dirt for publicity sake. No big deal. No one actually _liked_ Team Skull anyway.

But now this girl—the president's daughter, and Gladion's sister—the way she spoke made it sound as though they'd already gotten in way over their heads in matters that could cost them a lot more than some defamation of character.

Although part of her was still skeptical that the girl wasn't just searching for a way out despite her insistence that she wasn't going to run anymore, Plumeria couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that had been gripping her all evening and then some. While she would have been content to tell herself she was just overthinking things, had Lillie not said anything, now the feeling was eating her alive, and only growing more pervasive the closer they got to their destination. She wanted—no—she _needed_ answers.

"Let me ask you something," she said, finally breaking the silence between them, which prompted Lillie to look up at her. Without turning around, Plumeria glanced over her shoulder, maintaining eye contact with her as she spoke. "You say something bad is going to happen. Well… what is it?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Hoo boy! I am SO sorry this took so long to get done! The truth is, this being my first chaptered fanfic, I wasn't really as sure as I thought I was about the direction I wanted to take it. I ended up **making some changes to chapter 1** , which I hope you'll go back and read, as I feel it flows better with this chapter now._

 _From here on I'm hoping things will start to run a little more smoothly now that my ideas are more concrete, but I'm also learning not to make promises on when I'll get chapters completed, because I suck at deadlines. Anyways, thank you so much, everyone! I know you've been waiting patiently for this, and I hope you enjoy… here it is—_

* * *

 **Chapter 2.**

Just as Plumeria had predicted the president was eagerly awaiting them at the docks, with Guzma, too, standing off to the side with arms folded and a smile on his face as he scanned the boat. The mop of fluffy, white curls on his head looked as though an attempt had been made to tame them, but to no avail. Guzma's hair was as unruly as he was. Funny how the only time he ever seemed concerned with his appearance was when Lusamine was around. While he was quick to deny any notion that he harbored feelings for the older woman, it was plain to see from the way he acted around her. He would hurl himself off a bridge without a second thought if she asked him to.

The two of them were accompanied by a handful of employees who helped to secure the boat, overseen by that scrawny, pretentious old guy who resembled more of a string bean than an actual human. Plumeria never could seem to remember his name. She'd be hard-pressed to remember him at all, really, if not for those puke-green goggles and the matching gloves he wore. While there wasn't a whole lot she liked about the Aether Foundation in general, she acknowledged that there were at least _some_ good qualities to most of the people within it. Even Lusamine had a certain strength in her convictions which Plumeria found admirable. The string bean though? Suffice to say she could live a happy life if she never had to hear his stuffy voice again.

After handing Lillie off to her mother, Plumeria stepped back, passing a quick glance to Guzma, who'd been eyeing her since she stepped off the boat. He said nothing, but cocked a brow and flicked his eyes to Lillie, and then back at her with a questioning look. She knew what he was thinking. Her instructions had been to get the pokémon, and she'd returned with the girl. At least for the time being Cosmog remained tucked away inside the duffle bag, so it was understandable that, from Guzma's perspective, it looked like she'd returned with the wrong captive. He'd realize soon enough, she told herself, noticing it seemed one person already had.

Despite not having seen her child in months, there was no warmth in Lusamine's gaze as she eyed Lillie up and down, judging her as one would a convicted felon. It wasn't but a moment later when her eyes reached the bag, and her lips curved upwards in a knowing smirk. "Everyone. There's been a slight change of plans," she announced with head held high. "Faba. You and your team will be escorting my child and me back to my quarters. Guzma…"

"Ma'am," Guzma snapped to attention, straightening his posture.

"Your team may proceed to the main floor as well to await further instruction. Plumeria"—she nodded towards the Skull admin, who acknowledged her in return with strained professionalism—"I must say I'm quite pleased with your cooperation. You've been a valuable asset in not only returning my lost pokémon, but my daughter to me as well. You have my sincerest gratitude."

Plumeria dipped her chin politely, though inside she couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen once Lusamine and Lillie were alone together. Not that it was any of her business, but she had a feeling her conscience wasn't going to let her forget this one anytime soon. Nonetheless, she decided it would be best to try and stay focused on matters which _did_ concern her.

She looked to Guzma again, who had stuck behind for the time being as the president's group made their way to the lift. It was now or never, she told herself, checking back to dismiss the grunts who had accompanied her. Although they were somewhat confused by her telling them return to the boat, they did as told, curiously glancing back as she approached the boss from behind.

"Hey," he turned to face her, chuckling a bit as he spoke. "For a minute there I thought you'd fucked up, but ya done good! You're really somethin' else, ya know that?"

"I suppose one of us had to get their hands dirty." She shrugged.

Her tone was lost on Guzma, however, who nodded in agreement, still wearing that dumb smile of his. "Madam Prez was real pleased, lemme tell you. We'll probably get some extra reward for that, and you can expect a nice fat check by the end of the week."

The young woman crossed her arms and averted her eyes to the pristine white floor. While normally the prospect of a higher payout would excite her as it did Guzma, now it just felt wrong. At the same time, however, she felt a sting of guilt over the fact that, should she propose they cut ties with the president and go home—assuming he would even agree to such a thing—she'd be waving goodbye to the funds which would have provided another month's worth of food to her team—her _family._

' _Is a paycheck really worth putting them at risk?'_ Lillie's words from earlier rang clear in her head. Stupid girl. If only she'd kept her mouth shut and come along quietly like she'd said she would…

No. Plumeria shook her head, willing herself to refocus. If that girl hadn't said anything, then she would have continued blindly following orders, and leading her sibs down a dangerous path. This was for their own good.

Sensing something was off, Guzma leaned forward until their faces were inches apart, forcing Plumeria to look at him again. "Plums…? Y'know, if it bothers you that much you can wash your hands." He hiked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the lift. "They got a bathroom upstairs."

 _Really?_ Her eyes narrowed into slits, reflecting how thoroughly unimpressed she was by his attempt at humor. "Can we talk?"

"I… guess?" He frowned, caught off guard by the unexpected request.

"That girl"—she nodded in the direction of the lift—"You wanna know what she told me about that pokémon? She said if Lusamine uses its power, it'll die."

Guzma furrowed his brow, and she thought she detected the slightest hesitation. It seemed as though he wasn't surprised by her statement, so much as he was uncomfortable all of a sudden. But why, she wondered. She wanted to believe he was just as clueless as she was—that he _wasn't_ deliberately hiding anything from her, but his behavior now suggested otherwise.

"What else did she tell you?" he asked.

"Only that we shouldn't be here. That nothing good can come from this partnership, or whatever you wanna call it." She sighed again, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket and shifting her weight uncomfortably.

"Nothing good, huh?" Guzma hummed, crossing his arms and cupping his chin thoughtfully. From his stance it looked like he was giving genuine thought to the subject, but Plumeria knew better. Sure enough, a moment later he relaxed his shoulders, letting his hands fall to his hips as his smile returned. "Welp. We should be just fine, then. We ain't never been good to begin with."

Of course he wouldn't take this seriously. Why would he? She was all too aware of the fact she sounded like a damn conspiracy theorist. It wasn't like her to trust the word of someone she barely knew, and normally she would have blown it off without a second thought, had Lillie's words not resonated so strongly with her own inner turmoil.

"I'm serious, G. I don't know what's going on here, but I gotta say I don't like it."

And like that his smile was gone, replaced once again with a lowered brow, and a scowl to match. "You on your period or somethin'?" he asked.

Plumeria felt her face flush. "What the hell's that have to do with anything?" It wasn't true, of course, but even if it was that wouldn't make a difference. She was legitimately concerned, and he wasn't taking it seriously at all. Worse yet, he was acting like a class-A douchebag, brushing her off as though she were a slave to her hormones. Oh, she was all too familiar with the fact Guzma was hard to get along with at the best of times, and generally didn't care who he offended, but that was uncalled for.

Guzma, however, raised his hands in an exaggerated shrug. "Y'all seem to be worryin' needlessly about shit. What's gonna happen?"

"That's what I'd like to know," she said. "Tell me what's going on."

"Dunno."

"I think you do."

Guzma pinned her with an agitated look, but she crossed her arms, staring back at him, unshaken.

"Come on, G," she taunted. "What's your girlfriend up to?"

He sighed harshly, raising a hand to rub circles into his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "Are you _really_ gonna go there?" he asked, irritation weighing heavily on his tone. "Now, when we're supposed to be meetin' with the prez soon?"

"What are we meeting her for? What does she need us for now that she's got her pokémon and kid back?" Plumeria knew she was treading dangerous waters by pressing him on the subject, but she was determined to get answer. She knew he was hiding something. He'd kept her in the dark for so long, and she'd never questioned it beyond their initial conversation regarding the news article several months back.

Under different circumstances she might have been content to remain willfully ignorant of whatever it was they were involved in, just doing her job in exchange for a nice, fat paycheck. But now things were different. Red flags were popping up everywhere. She couldn't ignore them any longer.

"I asked you once what we were doing with these Aether prigs. Do you remember?" she asked when Guzma failed to give a response to her previous question.

"Yeah… I remember," he said slowly. "I also remember tellin' ya _don't ask dumb questions._ "

"I hardly think it's a dumb question."

"Dammit, Plumeria! Why the hell's it even matter?"

"We're a team, aren't we? Don't teams, y'know, _communicate_ with each other?"

Back on the boat two of the grunts were watching things escalate between the boss and their big sis, keeping low behind the railing so as not to attract their attention. The third, who had captained the boat on the way over, also watched with morbid curiosity, staying mostly out of sight behind the tinted windshield.

"Ey, yo. Things are gettin' pretty serious out there, yea?" the younger grunt whispered. "You think they're gonna brawl?"

"Nah, bro. Boss would never," the older one said.

"You're jokin' right? Remember when Jeff had that black eye? That weren't no accident."

"Yo, if you ask me J was askin' for it," the captain interjected. "He'd been tauntin' the boss all day about how he never backed up his threats, so he showed him aight. Punched him square in the face. I saw it with my own eyes."

"Do it look like Sis ain't tauntin' him to you?" the young grunt hissed.

"No, yeah, but he ain't never laid a hand on Sis," the older grunt said assuredly.

While it was true that the boss had an infamously foul temper and no reservations about backing up his threats, Plumeria had always been the exception. Many grunts speculated the reason for this, supposing it was as simple as the fact they'd been friends for years, going back long before Team Skull. The two were just about as close as friends can get, and although they argued from time to time, no one could recall any point when Guzma had raised more than his voice to her.

Plumeria stood firm as she stared back at him, unfazed by his increasing hostility. She wasn't afraid of him. She was the one her sibs came to for help whenever he was in a bad mood. Granted she rarely-if ever instigated things, but that didn't seem to matter now, nor did the fact she knew there would be no getting through to him while he's angry. For some reason she didn't care. Maybe because he was pissing her off too at that point.

Guzma groaned, running a hand through his hair and down the back of his head. He inhaled deeply through his nose, exhaling again through his mouth before he spoke in a low voice. "So I might not know every tiny detail of the operation," he confessed. "All I know is the prez wants to get her hands on some weird beasts… or whatever… 'n she needs that cosmuhwha'chahoozit to do it. I don't know what's got you so worked up. Ain't no different from usin' bait to lure in a big catch."

"So she doesn't care what happens to one pokémon as long as she gets another," Plumeria concluded.

"Ya think I lose my shit whenever somebody uses a grubbin to hook a bruxish?" he asked, eyeing her quizzically. "Ain't none of my business. Weren't none of yours either till now. What's wrong with you?"

She shook her head. "You don't get it."

"No I don't fucking _'get it'!_ Care to enlighten me?"

"Think about it, dumbass," she said harshly. "If she doesn't care what happens to that pokémon as long as she gets her beast, what the hell makes you think she cares what happens to anyone else? To you, in fact?"

Guzma groaned again, though this time it was more of an exasperated growl. His eyes pinched shut and his mouth formed a grimace as grabbed fistfuls of his hair, tugging on it in a last-ditch effort to calm his nerves before dropping his arms and gesturing at Plumeria in disbelief. "You think she don't care?! She's only sponsorin' us so we can stay in that shit hole of a town 'n don't starve or nothin'! But sure, Plums. Whatever you say. Lusamine don't care 'bout no one but herself!"

With that he turned around and started to walk away, but he hadn't taken more than a few steps when he paused as a new thought crossed his mind. "Actually, y'know what? You're right. She don't care." He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "I guess you could say that's one of the things I like about her. She don't care what _nobody_ thinks. If ya ask me that's admirable."

"So that it, then?" Plumeria said.

"What?" He looked back at her, and for the first time that night she noticed the hurt reflected in his eyes. He must have been struggling to hide it at that point, because he glanced away quickly, tilting his head to stare off at nothing in particular.

Plumeria felt her heart sink. She'd intended to talk to him, and convince him to gather the remaining grunts and return to Po Town with her. Tch… a fine job she'd done fucking that up. Instead of reasoning with him by expressing genuine concern as his friend, she'd let her emotions get the better of her after all, and pushed him further away as a result.

Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe there really was nothing more to Lusamine's plan than getting her hands on a new rare pokémon. Not that the Team Skull admin had ever seen anything quite as rare as Cosmog, but if there were more like it out there could she really say she wouldn't want to get her hands on them, too?

"Plums," Guzma said while continuing to avoid eye contact. "We gotta go… You comin' or not?"

She hesitated. Despite the doubt she was suddenly feeling from her own assumptions, she still couldn't shake the sense of dread which screamed at her to go. Just take Guzma by the arm and drag him back to the boat. He'd be furious with her, sure, but he'd be _safe._ Oh, if only it were that easy. But Guzma was a stubborn man, and once he set his mind to something there was no talking him out of it. She couldn't make his decisions for him. All she could do was offer him a gentle nudge in the right direction, and hope he followed. If he didn't? Well, then it was up to her to decide what road _she_ would take. She'd always stuck by him before, but now…

"No…" She shook her head. "I'm sorry, G. You're on your own this time."

"You can't be serious," he said. Anger welled up in his tone again, accompanied by disbelief, but he quickly shook it off. "Fine. You wanna go? Go. Who needs ya?" he said as he turned and headed towards the lift, muttering something to himself as he walked away without her.

Plumeria sighed as she, too, turned and headed back to the boat. So much for getting through to him. All she could do now was hope things would turn out ok.

* * *

Guzma took his sunglasses off, using his free hand to push his hair back before repositioning the shades on his crown. He breathed deeply, one breath after another for several seconds as the lift carried him up to the main floor. He arched his back until it popped, and rolled his shoulders, shaking off the tension as best he could, which turned out wasn't a whole lot. Try as he might, he just couldn't stop thinking about her. Plums…

What the hell was her problem? True, he'd hidden things from her, but only because it was none of her goddamn business what the president did with her own pokémon. He didn't go around sharing her secrets with Lusamine, so why should she expect him to share Lusamine's secrets with her?

For that matter, how would he even go about explaining something like wormholes and other worlds to her? Especially when he barely understood it, himself. That was more Faba's scene, he thought as the elevator came to a stop on the main floor. And there, waiting for him, was the green guy himself, looking perplexed, as though he hadn't expected the Team Skull boss to be alone.

"Oh?" he questioned. "Where are the others? I thought for sure that pretty right-hand of yours would be joining us tonight."

Guzma just scowled, pinning the old man with a hard glare which caused him to recoil, taken aback by the blatant rudeness. Faba knew better than to antagonize him, however. Not only was he bigger, and stronger (physically speaking, anyways), but for some reason the president favored him over her own staff. But he supposed it was not his place to question her taste in friends. Without another word he stepped aside, allowing Guzma to slouch on past towards the elegant doors leading out to the courtyard.

Back at the docks, Plumeria slumped down on the starboard bench with a weary sigh. Across from her the two grunts shared a cautious glance, unsure of what to say, or if they should remain silent and let her be. An awkward silence settled over them, until finally Plumeria spoke.

"You don't have to worry about me," she assured them, seeming to sense what they were thinking through some sisterly intuition. "I'm fine."

There were several more seconds of hesitation before the younger of the two boys across from her asked, "What are we gonna do?"

She leaned back, gazing up at the tall ceiling of the port as she mulled it over. When she finally parted her lips to speak again, her voice was cut short by the sound of a boat tearing through the water. She whipped her head around, and the others looked up, too, surprised to see the small watercraft which was headed straight for the port.

It slowed abruptly, coming to a drifting stop at the opposite dock, where two passengers and the driver hopped off. One grabbed a line and hastily tied the boat down before sprinting off after his friends, who were already halfway to the lift. Plumeria peered at them from a distance, and almost gasped when she realized who they were. Gladion! And that boy who had been with Lillie at the Aether house on Ula'ula. And sure enough, that brat who always seemed to be messing around with Team Skull. If they were here, then that must mean…

"We stay," Plumeria said, watching the group of three as they boarded the lift. "We stay, and we wait."


End file.
